Harith Noah successfully completes the 19-km Prologue in 35th overall

Jeddah, 1 Jan 2022: Sherco TVS Rally Factory team professional and international cross-country rider Harith Noah from India, began his Dakar 2022 sojourn on a successful note completing the gruelling transport section of over 590km of sandy terrain and rode on a cautious note with controlled aggression. The five-time Indian National champion with complete focus on navigation, finished a conservative 35th Overall from the 19-km Prologue on the New Year’s Day on Saturday but the plan is to preserve and finish, his third Dakar.

“Everything went well and the goal is finish without much fuss and we did exactly that. Now that we have a footing on the actual terrain, the 333-km Day 2 will is the immediate target,” said Harith Noah, back at his Bivouac, in Hail. The mountainous landscapes of Northern Saudi Arabia contribute to the contrasts of Dakar route. Sand is already on the menu, for now, in the shape of tracks. Be warned that this special is riddled with the fiendish navigation puzzles, typical of the country. And thus, the caution of Noah. Riders depend on their road books and memory. For cars, the focus  will be on navigators, or co-drivers as they are called, as any competitors who try to take short cuts will be immediately slapped with time penalties.

However, the Kerala rider from India, is keen on putting the right foot forward, as he managed to finish the course for Day 1, clocking 1 hour, 7 minutes, 15 seconds taking 11 min, 45 seconds more than Daniel Sanders of Australia, who topped the Opening special section on Saturday covering a total distance of 614km amidst the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia.

Harith Noah, supported by TVS Racing, astride a Sherco 450 SEF Rally machine, is sponsored by TVS, Sherco, Scott India and CamelBak India, began on a positive note and will be gunning for a steady ride on Sunday, the second day of the gruelling Dakar, which will have Stage 1b from Hai’l to Ha’il, a 181km liaison distance (transport section) and 333km of actual Special Section stage on tough sands, the first longest test that will prepare the riders and drivers for tougher things to come.

The 409 vehicles on the start list inaugurated the Dakar like never before. After departing Jeddah along the Red Sea for a northbound 225 km transfer, the starting shot for the qualifying stage was fired at the entrance to the Medina region. The opening 19 km sprint was a sign of things to come: sandy tracks and dunes in an all-sand timed sector in which the entrants crowned and gobbled up dunes, sometimes even broken ones, and climbed to an altitude of close to 400 masl. On this power hike, competitors were expected to bring their A game from the beginning, much like young biker Daniel Sanders (see Stat of the day) and the evergreen Nasser Al-Attiyah, primed for victory by a bountiful 2021 season. The caravan then headed north-east for a 614 km liaison to Ha’il, where the grand start podium awaited the participants for tomorrow’s stage 1B on a loop course.

Daniel Sanders, who claimed top rookie honours and finished just outside the podium last year, grabbed his maiden Dakar stage win in the opener. It was a first in more than one way, as the Australian also netted GasGas its first triumph in the most prestigious rally raid on Earth. As the icing on the cake, it was the first victory for the KTM 450, the latest showpiece of the Mattighofen factory, unveiled in Morocco last year. Spain’s GasGas is the 13th constructor to take a stage in the Dakar motorbike race. The rally had not feted a new winner since 2010, when Shercoand Aprilia opened their accounts. Let us see, if Sherco can throw a winner in the bike category.

AL-ATTIYAH VS LOEB

The newly elected FIA President, Mohammed bin Sulayem, travelled to Ha’il to witness the awarding of the very first FIA Cross-Country World Championship points. The Emirati former driver must have been delighted to see his heir take the lead at this momentous time. Not that Nasser Al-Attiyah is looking forward to an office with a commanding view of the Place de la Concorde in Paris! He is bin Sulayem’s successor in the sense that the Toyota driver has won the Middle East Rally Championship 11 times between 2003 and 2021, the same race that bin Sulayem won on almost every occasion from 1986 to 2002, with 14 titles in total. The game is on, but Al-Attiyah is currently focused on his incipient struggle with Sébastien Loeb.

NOTE: Noah position changed from 36th to 35th after it was upgraded officially.